Hearts of Glass
by Asunara Wisdom
Summary: Alfred questions why he took Natalya in after the Soviet Union's collapse as a little sister, and why things are strained between the two. Couldn't he have just left her, after all? Some implied past LietBel, sorry this is not an America/Belarus fanfiction, but I hope it tickles your fancy. Lightly based on "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5. Rated T for implied sensuality.


**Title: **Hearts of Glass

**Fandom: **Hetalia: Axis Powers

**Characters:** Natalya Arlovskaya (Belarus), Alfred F. Jones (America), mentions of others, particularly Toris Laurinaitis (Lithuania), Ivan Braginski (Russia), and Irunya Chernenko (Ukraine)

**Disclaimer:** I _do not_ own Hetalia. That would be amazing, but no.

**Notes:** I put thoughts and flashbacks into italics. And important stuff. I know, I should update my other stuff, but this occurred to e when I listened to a song, which you will see lyrics to in later chapters :)

* * *

"_**The heart is not meant to be a stone or a gem. The heart is of glass. Easily broken, easy to hurt. Something you can see through."**_

* * *

"Everything is made to be broken, Alfred. You have to understand that, out of all people, I would assume you would understand that. Bloody tea crates still floating in the ocean, you still haven't cleaned them up," the Englishman said, squinting his emerald green eyes, releasing the dart with the grace of a swan. It hit the center, right in the small red circle.

"Says the guy who could have shot me and gave up greatness. You couldn't break everything and shoot at me," the American said, with a swift motion, released two darts, hitting the Englishman's dart out of the way, both in the small red circle.

"Well then, do you _want _to be part of my empire again?" Arthur asked sarcastically, his thick eyebrows creased in a scowl.

"Heck no!" Alfred answered, smiling as he grabbed the mug of root beer float from the table and finished it in one gulp.

"Then you follow my advice. There's a point where you let go of things, a point where you have to break things. Or you watch those things break themselves."

"Yeah. Like your tea crates."

"You really are a bloody git, aren't you. I just have to ask: Why? Why did you do it? You could have also taken her sister with the large fanny pack, her sister needs emotional support. You could have left her to fend for herself. Maybe she would have united with that Lithuania bloke. Give him a chance to spread some man gravy. Weren't they a married couple at least once? They perhaps had spilt some of that gravy…"

"They were, and no they didn't, you pervy Brit," Alfred said. Lie. Toris wasn't exploiting of her, he waited for her, showed his love in every way possible. And obviously that was one way he did. And how did Alfred know this?

Arthur was obviously unamused with the 'pervy Brit' title. "You didn't answer the question. Why did you do it? Even if she was dependent on her brother… She's lived longer than you, she's faced separation, like when Kievan Rus was broken up by Mongolians. More than capable of standing for herself, and if she needed, Laurinaitis could be there for her. And you _obviously_ can't take care of womanly needs."

"I could, but I have to be a 'gentleman', now doing I?" Alfred muttered under his breath.

"You mutter rather loud, clot. You don't have the tenacity. You're much too prude compared to the Europeans," Arthur scoffed, sitting down at the table, already pouring himself a cup of tea. "And get the ice cream off your face, it makes you look rather _dashing_, doesn't it?"

Alfred wiped his mouth, the sticky white cream now on his bomber jacket.

"You better wash your clothes before you put that on again, you slob," Arthur commented snidely.

"Well you're encouraging. I took her in because… she needed me to. I'm the Hero, remember? And she was merely a damsel in distress who would have lost it all without my help and—"

"_Merely_? Is that what she was to you? _Merely_ a damsel in distress? If she were Grace Kelly, you'd still do the same, then."

"Okay then, not merely. It was partly an act of chivalry, partly an act of me wanting to assert my heroism, part the want to protect someone from the Commie and partly because I thought—"

"Ex-Communist, Alfred, correction, ex-Communist, remember the foreign relations around here. You did it for a bunch of the wrong reasons and just created another enemy who is starting to slide away even farther from your ideals. You have to understand, you can't bend people to your will, no matter how friendly and weak they are. Obviously she is not friendly nor weak. Ask yourself why you really did it. You could have left her with Toris. You never had history with her until you held your hand out. You could have left her in the caring arms of Toris. You know Toris well enough, he's not a half-bad guy at all. He had or has feelings for her. You need to dig yourself out of this codswallop before you drown in it," Arthur said, now sipping his tea with the greatest dignity. Silence sliced through the conversation, only the sound of the Brit sipping his tea echoing.

Alfred thought to himself for a while. Then he replied "I did it because she needed me to."

* * *

**Le Vocabulary~**

There are no new language words, just a bunch of British slang from our brash-mouthed gentleman! I got the slang from a website, so I don't know if it's common or not, so if Arthur sounds way too old or way too young, then bear with me! If Arthur regularly uses the word in the series, then I will not define it.

man gravy - Erm, you can figure out what that is.

clot - Idiot

codswallop - nonsense


End file.
